Tom Brady Misses Wednesday Practice With Illness

BOSTON (CBS) — All the hype this week is surrounding the impending matchup of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two of the all-time greats who will meet in the playoffs for the fourth time of their Hall of Fame careers. While the Brady-Manning showdown is sure to happen on Sunday, the former was not present at practice on Wednesday.

Brady was one of two Patriots to miss practice on Wednesday, with “illness/shoulder” listed as the reason on the team’s Practice Participation and Injury Report. The Pats’ QB was reportedly sent home after showing up sick, with the fear his illness could spread to others.

Brady played the entirety of Saturday night’s 43-22 win over the Colts in the divisional round, completing 13 of 25 passes for 198 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown though, as LeGarrette Blount ran for four scores and Stevan Ridley ran for two more. The quarterback didn’t suffer any apparent injury during the game, though he did admit to feeling a bit sick during the week leading up the Colts game.

It speaks to the importance of Brady than any absence — minor, major or anywhere in between — becomes headline news. Back in training camp, the football world stopped briefly when the quarterback left practice after Tampa Bay’s Adrian Clayborn pushed Nate Solder, who fell onto Brady’s leg. Brady turned out to be OK, though he rekindled his relationship with his knee brace after the incident.

Also of note for the Patriots was the return of Aaron Dobson to the practice field. The receiver missed all of last week’s practice with a foot injury that has nagged him for the past month-plus, but his return on Wednesday indicates he may be reaching a point where he’s healthy enough to play.

Punter Ryan Allen was also at practice after he left Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury, one that forced Brady to hold the ball on two Stephen Gostkowski kicks. Long snapper Danny Aiken, who launched a snap over Allen’s head on the play which got the punter injured, was also not present at Wednesday’s practice.

Tune in to the AFC Championship game Sunday afternoon at 3 pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. WBZ-TV will have a special 90-minute edition of Patriots GameDay beginning at 11:30 am, with pregame coverage beginning on 98.5 FM at noon